Archive for June, 2012

Growing up, you learn all about the geniuses that helped shape our world into what it is today.. People like Einstein, Galileo and many others. These people definitely did a lot to contribute to the advancement of our civilization.

I am going through some very personal, painful things at the moment. Suddenly a few days ago, this familiar quote just came to me, giving me peace. “If you love something, set it free, if it comes back to you it’s yours, if it doesn’t it never was”. Of course, there are many versions of this same quote, paraphrases of it, if you will. I started wondering who originally said this, for in my mind, they should be on all lists of the top geniuses of all time!

I started looking into it, and it seems that “anonymous” is often cited for this quote, but I did find two names associated with it. I have no idea which one said it first, but they are both credited for it at some point.

The two prospects for my genius list are Doug Horton (1891-1968) and Khalil Gibran (1883-1931). I was surprised that both of these men were quite faithful, very “religious” men. I never really thought of this quote as having these origins, but now knowing, makes the fact that it popped into my head on a particularly bad day all the more comforting. I believe it is something that will be the hardest thing anyone can do, but also quite necessary, in my case anyway.

I realize many of you who read this will think I’m being silly, over-dramatic, or putting too much stock in an old saying. Maybe I am, but it feels like the perfect mantra for me at this point in my life, and it does give me comfort. This is not meant to be an informative post, teaching anything, it’s just the ramblings of a soon to be single mom of two wild little boys…

I found this photo here, a great post on the same subject. Check it out!

I am a biology nerd who loves reading just about anything paranormal and some chick lit. I enjoy sunshine and my two Italian greyhounds with my husband. I always write to music, it helps the creative process. Dissolve is my first novel. I have been writing ever since I was in grade school and have finally decided to make a career out of it. More books to come summer 2012 and 2013.

From Goodreads: Noel Kennedy lost her boyfriend, her job and he dignity all in one week. Then something happened and she began to dream of this stranger she had never met. She couldn’t resist the man of her dreams named Jared especially when she met him in real life. Entranced, she slowly unraveled a world she was meant to stay out of. Her life was not what she thought it was once a sexy Boone stepped into the mix and shook things up. Can she escape a life of servitude or immortality for a chance at love?

This book was a different version of any immortals I’ve read about.
It starts by introducing Noel as she gets dumped by her boyfriend of 3 years, then slips into a depression and loses her job. She begins to dream of an amazing, sexy man that she soon realizes is real.
We follow Noel as her entire world is turned upside down. She is not who she believes herself to be, and neither is her best friend. Noel is suddenly thrust into the dark, magical world that she previously thought of as nonsense.
Dreamwalker was a very refreshing story full of action, romance, and steamy, but tastefully written scenes. I can’t wait to read the next in the series, I’m just dying to find out who ends up on Noel’s side, and who ends up her foes.. and which side, for sure, is the “right” side to be on!

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Welcome to today’s stop in the Pack of Lies tour, hosted by Innovative Online Book Tours! Today, we have an interview, the first chapter, and a giveaway!

From Goodreads: The last thing Allison Wright ever expected when she moved to Red Ridge, New Mexico was to come muzzle to muzzle with the wolf of her dreams.
Seventeen-year-old Allison Wright is convinced she’s losing her mind. Uncontrollable mood swings, hot flashes, and the urge to punch anyone who gets in her way are suddenly becoming everyday occurrences. Before her erratic behavior gets out of hand, Allison’s mother finally comes clean about her dark secret. Mom is a werewolf, and soon Allison and her brother Aiden will suffer the same fate. When Allison reaches her breaking point, the family leaves their life in Texas to move to Red Ridge, New Mexico where they rejoin the pack that Allison’s mother left behind almost 20 years ago.
Unfortunately, not everyone in Red Ridge is thrilled about Allison’s arrival, especially when she attracts the attention of the very handsome, very taken, soon-to-be alpha, Cade Walker. Little does Allison know, her mere presence is causing a rift in a once unified pack. Not only has Cade been forbidden from being with Allison by his father, the pack’s alpha, Cade’s girlfriend, Kendall Stuart, will stop at nothing to get Allison out of the picture. Well on her way to becoming the next alpha’s mate, Kendall expects to rule the pack by Cade’s side even if it means teaming up with a rogue werewolf with an agenda of his own. Determined to get rid of Allison permanently, when Kendall and the rogue join forces, all hell breaks loose and no one in the pack is safe, especially not Cade and his true mate.

The Authors

Staci Weber and Sara Dailey

The Interview

1) Was it difficult to co-write a book, as opposed to writing alone?

I guess we really wouldn’t know; we have never written alone. As to how the process of writing together actually works, it has kind of evolved over the years. When we first started writing together, we would plot out the story and then meet and write, passing the laptop back and forth between us. Then, on our own time, we would revise and edit. Now, we still write together sometimes, but we’ve gotten to the point where we can split up the chapters and write on our own. However, we still meet about once a week to write, but now we have two laptops instead of one. It’s been a real blessing being able to write as a team.

2) What inspired Pack of Lies?

We wanted to start a paranormal series, and let’s face it, werewolves are hot. So we decided to go with them. We wanted each book in the series to tell someone else’s story. We didn’t want our readers getting tired of our characters, and we didn’t want to get tired of them either. So we started out with a typical American family, mom, dad, two teenagers, but little did Allison
and Aiden know, their mom had one hell of a secret. And Pack of Lies was born. From there we knew we could build an entire series. What better way to be able to write about several different characters than have them be part of a Pack. Being that werewolf Packs are a tight-knit group and full of drama, we knew that the storylines could be endless.

3) How are your wolves different from others in the genre?

The main difference is that our main character, Allison and her brother Aiden, aren’t even aware that werewolves even exist until Allison becomes symptomatic. Before they even make the transformation, they move to another state to rejoin their mother’s old Pack. Her parents think that if they are around kids like themselves, the transition from normal teens to teen
wolves will be much easier. Unfortunately, not everyone in the Pack is happy to see them.

4) What else are you working on at the moment?

Right now we are hard at work on book two (currently untitled) in the Red Ridge Pack series.
This story is focused around Aiden and Teagan and is a continuation of the first novel, Pack of Lies. We hope that this series is successful, so we can continue for at least a few more novels. We have tons of story ideas, so we plan on sticking around for a while.

5) Do you have any favorite characters that you’ve written?

We would have to say that our two favorite characters from our own books are actually supporting characters. Daniel, in Sinful, was fun to write. He is the antagonist and who doesn’t love an uber-hot bad boy? Our other favorite would have to be Aiden, in Pack of Lies. He is the comic relief, so we are excited to develop his character further in book two.

6) Do any of your characters “resemble” any one you know in any way?

No, not at all. We are careful not to make any of characters too similar to our friends or family. We wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea, or get their feelings hurt if they think we based the mean girl after them, though we have used some of their names, which is kind of fun.

7) Tell us where all we can find you…

To learn more about us, visit our Publisher, our website and blog. And don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook.

Chapter 1
ALLISON
“I said break it up, ladies!”
Principal Murphy’s voice barely registered before someone grabbed me and pulled me away from the little bobble-head who was still swinging. With my vision still narrowed and my fists clenched, I tried to regain some sense of self-control as I shook off Coach Cole’s grip on my arm. Coach gave me a sympathetic look and warned, “Not again, Alli! When are you going to
learn?”
Glaring back and forth between us both, Principal Murphy ordered, “Miss Hades, my office, now! And Miss Wright… well, just go see the counselor again. I will get to you later.”
I could still hear the principal griping at Tiffany as he led her toward the front office. This was not my fault this time. The wench had it coming.
I had barely taken a step inside the counselor’s office before she laid into me. “Sit down, Miss Wright. Listen, I know you don’t want to be here; no one wants to be here, but it’s either me or Officer Daniels and trust me, you’re better off talking to me,” declared Mrs. Parker, the very young, very inexperienced guidance counselor at South Shore High School.
Definitely preferring to deal with this little pixy-stick rather than the school police officer—affectionately nicknamed Zero by the student body for his zero tolerance policy—I sat, but not because I was scared, only because I hoped she might go easy on me if I played nice. This wasn’t my first visit.
As I watched Mrs. Parker open my file, adjust her reading glasses, and clear her throat; I found myself wondering when my file became so big that it needed to be held with both hands.
I’m really not a bad kid. Seriously. It was just that lately trouble seemed to be following me around.
Parker sat back in her chair and huffed as she heaved my file onto her desk. As my multitude of office referrals spread across the desk and onto the floor, she said, “Really Allison, three major fights this semester already? It’s barely October. What on earth is going on with you?”
There it was. The million dollar question. I took a moment, just to make her think that I was thinking about what on earth was going on with me. I think it’s safe to say that there was a lot going on with me, but surely she didn’t think I was going to sit here and spill my guts to a guidance counselor, for Christ’s sake. How pathetic does she think I am?
I counted slowly to ten in my head before I responded, “Nothing, I’m fine,” and went back to picking at my nails. What exactly did she expect me to say? I could have said a hell of a lot.
Like that every girl in this school suddenly seems to have a problem with me. That I can’t go anywhere without them giving me dirty looks or making crude comments. And then there’s my favorite. Apparently, I’m out to steal anyone’s boyfriend that I come across, and therefore, I must be a slut.
What is with girls and the word “slut” anyway? Knowing I haven’t had much experience with the opposite sex, I should just let it roll off my back, right? But slut is like the worst thing a girl can call another girl. And for some reason, the entire female body at South Shore High seems to be in agreement that I am, in fact, a complete and utter slut.
I wasn’t going to tell Mrs. Parker what it had really been like for me for the past two months. She could just sit there, take her little notes, and pass my file on to the principal so that he could give me yet another consequence that I didn’t deserve.
Parker looked at me over the top of her too-trendy reading glasses and admonished, “Look, Allison, you’re going to have to do better than that. You are well on your way to the alternative high school, and the only reason you aren’t there already is because you don’t seem to be the instigator in all of this nonsense. But there has to be some reason why you were involved in three major fights, and who knows how many other minor altercations that weren’t reported.”
That did it. There was no way I was going to listen to her put this all on me. Yeah, I had planned to just sit there and listen to her “advice,” but now she was acting like this was all my fault. So instead, like usual as of lately, I stood up, looked down on the pixy, and snapped, “Look, I don’t know why, okay. I don’t know why all of a sudden every girl in this school hates me. I don’t know why guys that I have never even glanced at think that they can grab my ass in the hallway. I don’t understand how people who I have been friends with for years don’t want to talk to me or be seen with me in the cafeteria anymore. I have lost everyone, my best friend, my boyfriend, even the girls I have been friends with since elementary school. And I don’t know why. Why don’t you tell me? You tell me Mrs. Parker, you’re the expert, right? Tell me why I don’t have a single friend anymore except my brother.”
I had no idea why or when it started, but tears were rolling down my face, and I was yelling at this poor lady who looked as shocked by my outburst as I was. So much for playing it cool.
Now, I felt like I needed to apologize for putting that expression on her face. It’s not really her fault that everything was so screwed up. I took a deep breath, sat back down, and calmly said, “I’m sorry Mrs. Parker. That was out of line. I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. It’s just so frustrating. Everything is just kind of falling apart and I don’t know what to do.”
Mrs. Parker handed me a tissue and walked around her desk to sit in the seat next to me. She took off her glasses and said, “Honey… it’s okay. And if you don’t mind me being brutally honest, I will tell you why you have no friends, girlfriends at least.”
Seriously? Wiping my mascara-smeared eyes, I nodded my head ready for her to enlighten me.
“Now, listen closely ’cause this is a life lesson,” she said scooting a little closer to me. “Are you listening?” She paused to make sure I was paying close attention. “Females can be catty, conniving, evil bitches. And for the most part, we don’t like women who are better looking than we are,” she admitted in hushed tones, as if someone nearby might hear.
I couldn’t help but smile a little at Mrs. Parker, the sweet little guidance counselor saying “bitches.”
“You may not have noticed or maybe you have, but you are certainly not the same young woman you were last year. You have changed, and even I have noticed the attention—good and bad—that you are getting because of it.”
This lady can’t be serious. “I’m sorry Mrs. Parker, but I don’t buy it. My brother and I look just alike, and he has more friends than he can count. Nobody hates him, or spreads rumors about him, or starts fights with him. He’s like Mr. Popularity around here.”
“The rules are different for guys like your brother. Let me be honest with you,” she said sitting back in her chair. “I promised myself I would never say this to a student, or my own children, for that matter. In fact, it’s one of my pet peeves, but in your case I think it’s actually true. They’re jealous. All of them. Every girl and probably even a few teachers in this school. Jealously can do strange things to people.”
I just stared at her like she had lost her mind, she continued, “Alli, you are taller, stronger, and more beautiful than any other girl in this school, and let’s face it child, you have a killer body too. And to top it all off, you seem to be a genuinely nice person. Girls really hate people like you. You are their ultimate competition, and they know they don’t stack up, so instead, they’ve evidently chosen to make your life miserable.”
Wow, this woman was really nuts. How was I supposed to respond to that? Yes, Mrs. Parker, I have noticed how hot I am and how great my tits and ass look lately. Jeez! I always thought it would be great to be that girl, but for the record, it sucks.
“So what am I supposed to do about it?” I asked, hoping she just might have the answer I’ve been looking for.
“Well, there’s not much you can do, dear. Hmmmm, let’s see. Why don’t we start with not hitting anybody?” she suggested with sarcasm oozing from her pores.
Yeah, now there’s some advice I could use.
So I guess when some hussy is accusing me of trying to hit on her man, I’m just supposed to ignore it. Well, that was unlikely to happen any time soon.
Parker’s you-know-I’m-right smirk was starting to piss me off. How could she think it would be that simple?
“But it’s not my fault. They push me and push me until I can’t take it. I seriously think they are trying to get me kicked out or something.”
“Well, don’t let them win. I know it sounds cliché Allison, but you need to be the bigger person and just walk away.”
When I wandered out of Parker’s office, the school secretary gave me an unsympathetic look as she informed me that my mom was here and had just gone in to see Principal Murphy. I could only imagine how that was going. I just hoped that I was still a student at South Shore come morning and not a new member of the Creek Alternative Education School.
Not wanting to sit in the office with the school secretary’s opinionated glare, I politely requested that she let my mom know that I would be waiting in my car. The dismissal bell rang, and as I walked out to the parking lot, I carefully avoided all eye contact, trying to “be the bigger person” and all. With my eyes on the ground, I didn’t see anyone coming until I ran right into the last person I wanted to see. I looked up startled, only to find, Julie, my ex-best friend. Her
eyes shot up from her iPhone, and she said, “Oh… hey.”
“Hey Julie. How ya been?” I asked, hoping she might stop to talk, but instead she just kept walking and finishing her text. I turned to watch her pass, feeling the familiar sting that still gets me even after all this time. How could she just forget how close we once were? It was by no means the first time I had tried to rekindle our friendship, and the outcome has always been the same.
I got in my car and turned the A/C on full blast. Leaning my head against the window, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on cooling down. It has been hotter than hell lately, everywhere I went, which is not entirely unusual in Texas, but it was weird. I didn’t sweat. It was like I was hot on the inside. A fever maybe?
The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that I was definitely coming down
with something. It was not just being hot; my vision had been a little funny too. Not blurry or hazy or anything, just different. And on top of that, I kept getting these waves of nausea from all these funky smells in the air. I swear some people don’t wear enough deodorant, and if I smell one more girl with vanilla body spray, I might just have to hurl.
Really… could life get any suckier? Not only was I a social pariah, but a sick one at that. There should be a rule or something that everything is not allowed to go wrong all at once.
Right?
I was half-way to dreamland when my brother, Aiden, started pounding on the windshield.
“Yo, Balboa! I heard you kicked Tiffany Hades’s ass. When are those dumb broads gonna learn not to mess with my little sis, huh?”
I opened the car door and got out, glad to see a friendly face, the only friendly face I knew lately.
“Tiffany is a dumb-ass, and she had it coming,” I replied.
“Well, I can’t exactly argue with that,” he said as he threw his arm over my shoulder, leading me toward the gym.
“Come on, Al. Walk me to practice.”
We walked in silence for a minute or so, and then with a heavy sigh, Aiden asked, “So, what are we gonna do about you? You can’t keep beating up all the pretty girls. Who will I take to prom?”
“That’s not funny, and it’s not my fault. Her loser boyfriend grabbed my ass in the hall, and she just happened to be standing right there. Apparently, Tiffany saw that as my fault.”
“Thomas? Thomas did what? What an asshat! He should know better than to mess with my little sis. I may just have to kill him now,” Aiden said with a tough-guy smile.
I couldn’t deny that Aiden had taken pretty good care of me since I went from something to nothing in no time flat. He was well aware that people talked mess about me constantly and have written me off the who’s who list, but he didn’t care what they thought. And he certainly didn’t let anyone bad-mouth me when he was around. Honestly, I didn’t know what I would do without him. He was the closest friend that I have ever had, and currently my only friend, though that hadn’t always been the case.
But as close as we are, Aiden and I are polar opposites. He’s funny and outgoing, and of course, the most popular guy at every high school in the greater Houston area. There was even a rumor that he was nominated for homecoming king at our rival school, Bay Creek, which I had no doubt was true. He plays every sport, makes straight As, has more girls after him than he can handle, and is a good four inches taller than me, and I’m five foot ten. He has green eyes and dark brown hair instead of my hazel eyes and blonde hair, but we both have an olive complexion, yet somehow, I’m hated and he is adored.
Again, Aiden took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know what to tell you, Al. Just don’t let them get to you. Tiffany’s an idiot, and everyone knows it.”
“I know, but…”
“Just do me a favor? Don’t get kicked out of school. Okay?”
He smiled at me, and took off into the locker room before I could tell him that it might be too late.
I turned around and headed back to my car, just in time to see one very angry mom heading straight toward me.

The Giveaway

Would you like your own copy of Pack of Lies? You can win one in your format of choice (ebook only). Open internationally. Here’s what you do…

Leave a comment along with your email.. Extra entries earned by following my blog, if you “like” the authors facebook page, or tweet about the giveaway. Just give details of any extra points you’ve earned (links, name, email, etc.).

Don’t worry, if you don’t win, you can always pick up the Kindle format here.

He waits in his library, alone, drawing back curtains on memories of love so many years lost. Reports of dead men, bloodless, all eerily similar, tell Vincent the tale. Stalking in shadows, she seeks him.
Will she have him still?
Told first in Helen A Rosburg’s poem “Angelique,” the story of Angelique and Vincent’s undying love now comes to resplendent life in this novelette illustrated by Cherif Fortin and Lynn Sanders and offered in animated-book format. With its beautiful prose and breathtaking images, this instant classic vampire story will haunt and delight readers for eternity.

The Illustrators

Cherif Fortin is a freelance photographer, illustrator, and writer living in

Chicago, Illinois. At one time he

has worked as a professional stuntman, as a full-time firefighter, and as one of the country’s leading romance cover models. Cherif’s artwork has been featured on the covers of hundreds of books in dozens of countries, and on calendars and collectibles. He runs the successful Fortin & Sanders Studio along with partner, Lynn Sanders, producing commercial art and photography for leading clients internationally.

He lives with his wife, Dawn, and their three children: Kira, Kai, and Lara.

Lynn Sanders is an artist, photographer, and writer of romance fiction and children’s books. She is co-owner of Fortin & Sanders Studio, which produces cover art for some of the top publishers in the world. Her paintings have been exhibited at Epcot Center and are owned by private collectors such as Hugh Hefner and Fabio. She has three adult children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. She lives in northern Illinois with Ce Ce, her faithful Cirneco dell Etna.

The Interview

The Interview:

1) Tell us a bit about yourselves.Lynn: I am a great grandmother. I have 3 children. I’ve lived most of my life in Illinois. I have always loved art and romance. I lean toward depicting the fantasy side of life rather than the stark, bare-my-soul type of art. I love pretty things.

Cherif: I’m married and a father of three. I live in a northwest suburb of Chicago and work as a full time firefighter for the city of Elgin, Illinois. My other full time career is as an illustrator/photographer, which I started doing professionally in 1993. I’m big into sci-fi/fantasy literature. I love art, video games and going to the movies with my wife. I’m also an avid kick-boxer.
We recently welcomed an addition to our family: our brand new, Doberman puppy, Shogun. Artistically speaking, I am strongly influenced by the great illustrators of the 20th century as well as many photographers and representational artists. I sometimes work in oils, but mostly I work digitally, so I am interested in technology. I love the work of contemporary concept artists.

2) When did you start working together and what brought you together.Lynn: In 1993 I met Cherif at Medieval Times at one of his performances (he worked there as a stunt performer for 12 years). I offered him a trade shoot at my photography studio: comp pics for his modeling portfolio and contest pictures for me. He came to the studio a couple times and that’s when I found out he was also artistic. I had a fledging commercial background painting business at the time and I needed artists, so I gave him a job. Within a year we became partners in that business and started working together on a variety of other illustration projects.
A couple years into our partnership, I started piecing some of the shots I had taken of Cherif into a personal project. It eventually evolved into Passion’s Blood, the first-ever illustrated romance novel. Passion’s Blood was initially published by Genesis Press in 1998, then republished ten years later by Medallion Press as the flagship title launching their Masterpiece line. It was published again in 2010 by Medallion for the iPad as an animated romance.

Cherif: About the time Lynn and I started putting Passion’s Blood together in the middle 90’s, we also broke into the publishing field as book cover illustrators. We had the good fortune of working for most of the big publishing companies, and many great independents over the years.
Our work has been published on thousands of book covers and seen by millions of people all over the world. A lot of our work has been for the romance genre, where fans know us as Fortin &amp; Sanders. We still work together painting, illustrating and photographing all kinds of projects, though I think our favorite jobs will always be illustrating books.

3) What are some of you favorite pieces from Angelique?Lynn: I like the painting of the mist scene where Angelique walks toward the viewer. That’s one that Cherif painted and I thought he did a brilliant job capturing the scene. It has a really creepy feel to it.

Cherif: I dont know if I have one absolute favorite, though one of the paintings I like best has to be the one of Angelique at the window. Sometimes when I’m working, paintings can take on a life of their own, but this one came out exactly as I saw it in my mind’s eye when I read the storythe first time.

4) Was working on an iPad app completely different from other work you’ve done? Was it more or less challenging?Cherif: Yes, this was different because of the animations which required us to do several versions of the paintings (or parts of the paintings). Angelique was the first project we worked on where we intentionally crafted our paintings to be able to move and interact with the reader. It meant we had to do a lot of extra work, but I think the added value of having sound and motion in the finished product is definitely worth it.

5) What’s coming up for Fortin & Sanders?Lynn: We are always working on stories and illustrations. We have all the illustrations ready for another story that is similar in tone to Passion’s Blood, and we’d love to see that released as an app in the future. We also do fine art portraiture for private clients, painting everything from pets, to children, brides and corporate execs. We are still illustrating book covers for a variety of clients and we hope to keep doing that for many more years to come.
On a personal level, I just finished a series of paintings for a group of silk-flyer acrobats. I’m also working on illustrating some kids books which I’d like to see published one day, and I’m doing a lot of portraits of Elvis, which I sometimes put up for sale on ebay.

Cherif: We’re spending a lot of time promoting Passion’s Blood and Angelique these days, doing signings and appearances (our next appearance will be at the Printer’s Row show in Chicago, June 9th). We’re also finishing production on some artwork for the Gordie Brown Live! Show at the Golden Nugget Casino, which you can see on 8 billboards throughout Las Vegas.
My personal projects lately include doing a lot portraits of my family (puppies and kids, they’re just so darn cute), as well as some paintings exploring fantastic and mythological themes (uh oh, sounds like a new section for the website). I’m putting the finishing touches on a new book which features art techniques for professional photographers; I’m hoping to have that ready by the end of the year.

Thanks to Cherif Fortin and Lynn Sanders for their time today! If you would like to purchase the app, you can get it here on itunes.

From Goodreads: The last thing Allison Wright ever expected when she moved to Red Ridge, New Mexico was to come muzzle to muzzle with the wolf of her dreams.
Seventeen-year-old Allison Wright is convinced she’s losing her mind. Uncontrollable mood swings, hot flashes, and the urge to punch anyone who gets in her way are suddenly becoming everyday occurrences. Before her erratic behavior gets out of hand, Allison’s mother finally comes clean about her dark secret. Mom is a werewolf, and soon Allison and her brother Aiden will suffer the same fate. When Allison reaches her breaking point, the family leaves their life in Texas to move to Red Ridge, New Mexico where they rejoin the pack that Allison’s mother left behind almost 20 years ago.
Unfortunately, not everyone in Red Ridge is thrilled about Allison’s arrival, especially when she attracts the attention of the very handsome, very taken, soon-to-be alpha, Cade Walker. Little does Allison know, her mere presence is causing a rift in a once unified pack. Not only has Cade been forbidden from being with Allison by his father, the pack’s alpha, Cade’s girlfriend, Kendall Stuart, will stop at nothing to get Allison out of the picture. Well on her way to becoming the next alpha’s mate, Kendall expects to rule the pack by Cade’s side even if it means teaming up with a rogue werewolf with an agenda of his own. Determined to get rid of Allison permanently, when Kendall and the rogue join forces, all hell breaks loose and no one in the pack is safe, especially not Cade and his true mate.

My Review:

Werewolves aren’t usually my paranormal of choice, I don’t really know why, but they just aren’t books I usually pick up on my own.. I will probably be reading more of them now after reading this book!
Imagine, being in high school, the “it” girl, when suddenly all the girls you thought were your friends (including your best friend) turn on you, calling you horrible names and accusing you of trying to steal every guy in your perimeter.. meanwhile all the guys are behaving like the classic sexual harassment videos, the ones showing how not to act. I don’t know about you, but I’d be quite aggressive and defensive, Allison (Ali) is no different. After her 3rd fight by October, her parents finally divulge a secret about their mom’s past, One that explains what is going on with you and your still perfect and loved older brother.
Ali and Aiden’s lives change drastically in one night.. They move back to the pack their mother once left. Still nervous and on-guard, Ali has hope to maybe fit in with “her own kind” and make some friends, only to realize that things still haven’t changed much. Especially when she meets Cade, the son of the pack leader, and heir to the title as well.. Cade is dating the nastiest girl in the pack, but soon they realize they can’t stay away from each other..
There’s plenty of drama, action and romance in this book. We follow the secret romance of Cade and Ali, up until the dramatic climax. I am excited to read the rest of the story..

One of my high school English teachers shares the name Sharon Stone with the actress, but this was well before the film Basic Instinct would spread more than fame around the world for the talented and strong Hollywood starlet. I owe my teacher Sharon Stone a shout of gratitude for being the first to encourage me to write and own what I write. In a Junior English class, she assigned the very first creative writing homework: write a story. Fiction. Epiphany moment – in the long educational process, my eyes opened to something I thought was outside of a curriculum.

I hid the fact that I wrote my own fiction, tiny stories, fake news reports, at home on an old typewriter. Little bumpy prose ditties on scrap paper filled up my notebooks. I don’t recall where those notebooks went. They’re lost to landfill. Back in junior high, years before this high school writing assignment, a poet from the University came to speak to our entire class, and I enjoyed hearing his poems, but the immediacy faded when I concentrated on fiction.

“Write a story,” Ms. Stone said to the class. I went home and raced through what would turn out to be my first foray into writing suspense fiction, a short story that maybe filled five or six lined notebook pages, the kind with punch holes.

The subject of my fiction even then sprang from suspense, it’s what I loved to read, it’s what I loved to watch on film (and still do love). I look back at this teen about to write his first suspense story with nostalgia and humor. The story was rough, comically bad and derivative, but it had details, specific details about a higher end shopping store. My parents visited Columbus shopping centers most weekends to escape the doldrums of Granville, Ohio, and we came along for the ride. At this point in my life I am malled out, and rarely love traveling to one, can’t remember the last time I walked a mall.

I began my first suspense tale and wrote about a man whose nerves made him jumpy. He looks behind him on a busy street — yes, I set the story in New York City since my father took us there every other year or so to walk the streets for a day — and there’s another man running towards him, and my hero starts to run. He runs into a Saks or something like that and trips over people, dashes up escalators, sweats as he tries to hide . . . and he’s caught by other people, rushed out of the store, forced into a big black car and someone holds up a hypodermic needle. The sense of deja vu, even then, was heavy. My character’s journey ends. There was no reason for the chase mentioned, no inner monologue: Why are they chasing me? And the plot was nonexistent too. Just the rush of someone coming after another character in a scene.

The next day, in class, we had to exchange stories with someone else, and the classmate who read mine said she liked my handwriting (I didn’t type class papers in high school – that would’ve really shown off my nerd crown) . . . but she didn’t understand the story. I had great penmanship. The classmate’s name wasn’t Rhoda, thank God.

Decades pass and the writing became sharper. Sandcastle and Other Stories grew into a collection with several stories dipping into the suspense genre. I thank Sharon Stone for the nudge in a good direction.

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If you’re a fan of supernatural fiction then you will be captivated by this true story about a spiritually sensitive girl and the path that led to her possession. Part one of a two-part series, Saving Mary is the story of a modern-day Mary Magdalene—the woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons.
Deidre Daily is drawn to anything seemingly spiritual, desperately seeking a spiritual existence. But inside this vibrant girl hides a terrified child who sincerely believes she has married the devil. Through a series of spiritual encounters her fear turns into reality, and she ends up possessed.

For Steve, Sophia, Dave, and Brooke, life hasn’t turned out as planned. Rather than easy fame and fortune, these happy-go-lucky teenagers of the 1980’s found young adulthood a mystifying series of dead-end jobs, failed relationships, family scandal, and surging frustration.
Now approaching middle age, all they want is to reverse their gradual alienation from life and one another, reconnecting with their earlier, innocent selves.
But there’s a catch. Before any of them can move forward, they must collectively confront that one outrageous night back in college that first drove them apart, revealing secrets potentially shattering everything they ever were.

The last thing Allison Wright ever expected when she moved to Red Ridge, New Mexico was to come muzzle to muzzle with the wolf of her dreams.
Seventeen-year-old Allison Wright is convinced she’s losing her mind. Uncontrollable mood swings, hot flashes, and the urge to punch anyone who gets in her way are suddenly becoming everyday occurrences. Before her erratic behavior gets out of hand, Allison’s mother finally comes clean about her dark secret. Mom is a werewolf, and soon Allison and her brother Aiden will suffer the same fate. When Allison reaches her breaking point, the family leaves their life in Texas to move to Red Ridge, New Mexico where they rejoin the pack that Allison’s mother left behind almost 20 years ago.